Blow the House Down! Lessons for 3 Little Pigs

Keeping the attention of young children is never easy. But there's just something about a big bad wolf and some cute, hardworking pigs that keeps their attention glued to the events in the story.

Wondering how to teach “The Three Little Pigs" to your preschoolers? This preschool Little Pigs lesson plan will help your students relate to the book on their level.

I'll Huff and I'll Puff…

Read a copy of the classic fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs," such as this book by Patricia Seibert. Stop after each pig builds his own house, and ask students which pig they think is the smartest. Then read on to find out if the students were right.

Puppet Show

Help students make puppets by handing out large pink circles (for the pigs’ heads), small pink circles (for the pigs’ noses), and small pink triangles (for the pigs’ ears) made out of construction paper. Help your students glue the pieces onto the front of a paper bag to make a paper bag pig. Then have one child act as the wolf, while the other children use their pig puppets to act as the pigs.

Houses of Straw, Sticks, and Bricks

Provide students with straws, popsicle sticks, and rocks. Tell students that real straw is light, just like drinking straws, and that bricks are heavy, like rocks. Have students experiment by building small structures from straws, popsicle sticks, and rocks, and then trying to blow each structure down. Discuss with students which was easiest to blow and which was hardest. Ask students to guess why this is so.

Bringing It Down to Their Level

Ask students to discuss what each pig would do if…

·His mother asked him to clean up his room

·He wanted to make a birthday card for his friend

·He wanted to learn how to play baseball

This Three Little Pigs activity should help students relate the moral of the story to their own lives. They should realize that the lazier little pigs would not work hard at cleaning up, making a card, or practicing baseball, whereas the more responsible little pig would work hard to reap rewards later.

After teaching, The Three Little Pigslesson plan to your preschool students, they should understand the plot line of the book, as well as how the message of the story can be applied to their own lives.